Here are 100 books that Who Is Maud Dixon? fans have personally recommended if you like
Who Is Maud Dixon?.
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I’m a backpacker at heart, a high school English teacher, and a bestselling author with an eye on what’s really happening under the surface and what people are really thinking. My mum taught me early to "watch the quiet ones," and I’ve always been fascinated by the way people can promote a very public self while maintaining something totally different on the inside. Perhaps that’s why I love a good twist! I also think that in the current climate of extremely savvy thriller readers, it’s impressive to wrongfoot readers and stay true to the clues hidden in the pages.
Magpie is tense, clever, and so beautifully written that I thought I was following a certain point of view, only to be whiplashed into the reveal of someone completely different.
With a story that centres around motherhood and pregnancy, the dread is a slow, subtle, terrible creep, and I loved how the characters unraveled.
For fans of The Last Mrs. Parrish comes a twisty psychological suspense about motherhood, obsession, and just how far some will go for the perfect family. “Great, plain and simple” (Stanley Tucci).
Marisa and Jake are a perfect couple. And Kate, their new lodger, is the perfect roommate—and not just because her rent payments will give them the income they need to start trying for the baby of their dreams.
Except—no one is truly perfect. Sure, Kate doesn’t seem to care much about personal boundaries and can occasionally seem overly-familiar with Jake. But Marisa doesn’t let it concern her, knowing…
I’ve been writing crime novels and TV shows for years. For TV, I wrote for Law & Order, Pretty Little Liars, CSI: Miami, and several other crime shows. In the book world, I used to write amateur sleuth novels, and now I write thrillers. My favorite form of relaxation is to get a cup of tea, put my feet up, and read a great thriller. They inspire me. As I read, I study how they’re structured. There’s nothing I appreciate more than a twist I didn’t see coming, a morally good character who turns out to be evil, or a flawed character who ultimately turns out to be good.
When I was a kid, I used to love W. Somerset Maugham short stories. Often they were about two strangers, usually men, meeting in a remote colonial outpost, and one of the two would then proceed to tell the other a strange, violent, heartbreaking, life-altering story that had happened to him or that he had witnessed. Mouth to Mouth, which I loved, reminded me of those stories.
I listened to it on audiobook, and the narration is pitch-perfect. This novel is about two men who meet at an airport when their plane is delayed. They go into a lounge, where one of them, a rich art dealer named Jeff, proceeds to tell the other his life story.
It’s gripping. I sat in my car after I got home so I could listen to the last twenty minutes.
I've been writing for 20 years, and the more I learn about the craft, the less interested I am in big, bombastic thrillers about the end of the world. Now I'm more impressed by books that do a lot with a little. Some talented writers can spin a gripping story out of nothing more than two people in a room (Stephen King's Misery is one of my all-time faves). The domestic noir genre lends itself to this kind of minimalism. Sure, serial killers are scary, but not as scary as the thought that your spouse might not be who they seem.
Pippa has everyone else's dream husband. Not only is Gabe gorgeous and a loving father to their two daughters, but he's also a bona fide hero—they live in a house on the edge of a cliff, and Gabe has talked several would-be jumpers out of committing suicide. But one day, a woman falls to her death. Pippa doesn't see the event, but she does see Gabe a split-second later, arms outstretched—did he reach out to save the woman, or did he push her off the edge?
It's a great set-up, and the author refuses to rest on it. The story takes one bold leap after another (if you'll pardon the expression) but never leaves the reader behind. When I realized that half the chapters would be narrated by the dead woman, speaking from beyond the grave, I should have been disbelieving, but instead, I was even more intrigued.
'Gabe is alone at the cliff's edge. His arms are outstretched, palms facing the empty air.'
He said she jumped. He wouldn't lie.
Before the woman went over the cliff, Pippa and Gabe were happy. They have the kind of marriage that everyone envies, as well as two sweet young daughters, a supportive family, and a picturesque cliff-side home - which would have been idyllic had the tall beachside cliffs not become so popular among those wishing to end their lives.
Gabe has become somewhat of a local hero since they moved to the cliff house, talking seven people down…
Tap Dancing on Everest, part coming-of-age memoir, part true-survival adventure story, is about a young medical student, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor raised in N.Y.C., who battles self-doubt to serve as the doctor—and only woman—on a remote Everest climb in Tibet.
I’ve been writing crime novels and TV shows for years. For TV, I wrote for Law & Order, Pretty Little Liars, CSI: Miami, and several other crime shows. In the book world, I used to write amateur sleuth novels, and now I write thrillers. My favorite form of relaxation is to get a cup of tea, put my feet up, and read a great thriller. They inspire me. As I read, I study how they’re structured. There’s nothing I appreciate more than a twist I didn’t see coming, a morally good character who turns out to be evil, or a flawed character who ultimately turns out to be good.
I enjoyed this novel about a serial killer's daughter. The main character is flawed but very rootable, and the ending took me by surprise.
I especially admired the way all the different strands of the plot came together. The author laid out some good cookie crumbs for the reader to follow, and I missed several of them in a way that was very satisfying when they were revealed to me. I also liked that the main character gets a happy ending that I found very believable.
A twisty psychological thriller from the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Housemaid and The Coworker!
Some doors are locked for a reason…
While eleven-year-old Nora Davis was up in her bedroom doing homework, she had no idea her father was killing women in the basement.
Until the day the police arrived at their front door.
Decades later, Nora's father is spending his life behind bars, and Nora is a successful surgeon with a quiet, solitary existence. Nobody knows about her past, and she'll do anything to keep it that way.
I’ve been writing crime novels and TV shows for years. For TV, I wrote for Law & Order, Pretty Little Liars, CSI: Miami, and several other crime shows. In the book world, I used to write amateur sleuth novels, and now I write thrillers. My favorite form of relaxation is to get a cup of tea, put my feet up, and read a great thriller. They inspire me. As I read, I study how they’re structured. There’s nothing I appreciate more than a twist I didn’t see coming, a morally good character who turns out to be evil, or a flawed character who ultimately turns out to be good.
This book is an entertaining thriller about a woman who discovers, or thinks she discovers, that her husband has killed at least one woman in the past. She needs to figure out how to extricate herself and her daughter from this situation in a way that will be least damaging to the two of them.
It's difficult to talk about this novel without spoilers, but the second half of The Serial Killer's Wife has great twists, and the ending packs a wallop. It's not often that a final twist surprises me as much as this one did!
I’m a backpacker at heart, a high school English teacher, and a bestselling author with an eye on what’s really happening under the surface and what people are really thinking. My mum taught me early to "watch the quiet ones," and I’ve always been fascinated by the way people can promote a very public self while maintaining something totally different on the inside. Perhaps that’s why I love a good twist! I also think that in the current climate of extremely savvy thriller readers, it’s impressive to wrongfoot readers and stay true to the clues hidden in the pages.
This book took my breath away. I thought I had it all figured out and how wrong I was. Gillian McAllister is the queen of the smart, well-threaded twist, and she layers her plot with moral dilemmas that make her lead characters so relatable.
The plot centres around a policewoman and a terrible choice she must make, but for almost half of the book, I had no idea how tricked I was, and I feel like that’s hard to pull off in the thriller genre.
THE HEART-STOPPING NOVEL OF A MISSING PERSON'S CASE WITH A TWIST FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR
'A cleverly crafted, emotional and thought-provoking thriller with one of the best twists I've read. Superb' CLAIRE DOUGLAS
'Extraordinary...a plot that takes the breath away' DAILY MAIL
________
OLIVIA. 22 years old. Last seen on CCTV, entering a dead-end alley. And not coming back out again. Missing for one day and counting . . .
Julia is the detective heading up the case. She knows what to expect. A desperate family, a ticking clock, and long hours away from her husband and daughter.…
Riley Masterson has moved to Greenbrier, SC, anxious to escape the chaos that has overwhelmed her life.
Questioned in a murder in Alabama, she has spent eighteen months under suspicion by a sheriff’s office, unable to make an arrest. But things in gentrifying Greenbrier are not as they seem. As…
I’m a backpacker at heart, a high school English teacher, and a bestselling author with an eye on what’s really happening under the surface and what people are really thinking. My mum taught me early to "watch the quiet ones," and I’ve always been fascinated by the way people can promote a very public self while maintaining something totally different on the inside. Perhaps that’s why I love a good twist! I also think that in the current climate of extremely savvy thriller readers, it’s impressive to wrongfoot readers and stay true to the clues hidden in the pages.
Robyn Harding is so good at outsmarting readers and knowing which way to deke in a plot. This book has a midpoint turn that literally made me gasp.
Set at the fallout of the Covid pandemic, Harding has created characters who’ve already lost everything, and the stakes could not be higher. Told in tight, lean prose, it’s a masterclass in how to puppeteer desperate people and construct a fantastic plot swerve.
From the bestselling author of The Party comes a "dark and wild ride of redemption, betrayal, and friendship" following a homeless woman fleeing a dangerous past-and the wealthy society wife she saves from drowning: "As twisty and pacey as it gets" (Ashley Audrain, New York Times bestselling author of The Push). Most anticipated by Goodreads * Indigo? * SheReads
Lee Gulliver never thought she'd find herself living on the streets-no one ever does-but when her restaurant fails, and she falls deeper into debt, she leaves her old life behind with nothing but her clothes and her Toyota Corolla. In Seattle,…
I’m a backpacker at heart, a high school English teacher, and a bestselling author with an eye on what’s really happening under the surface and what people are really thinking. My mum taught me early to "watch the quiet ones," and I’ve always been fascinated by the way people can promote a very public self while maintaining something totally different on the inside. Perhaps that’s why I love a good twist! I also think that in the current climate of extremely savvy thriller readers, it’s impressive to wrongfoot readers and stay true to the clues hidden in the pages.
I loved this thriller set high in the hills of a Greek villa, where all the women have secrets up their sleeves.
Told in multiple perspectives, it holds its tension so well, and I wasn’t sure which of the women in the group might turn murderous or which of the secrets might explode. The final twist, however, was so satisfying because I hadn’t spotted it, even when it had been there all along…
The scorching, escapist new thriller from the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Castaways
'An addictive sun-soaked thriller'MARIE CLAIRE 'The perfect holiday read' CLAIRE DOUGLAS 'Brimming with tension' CLARE MACKINTOSH 'Talk about twists and turns' EMMA STONEX 'Utterly addictive . . . her best yet' ERIN KELLY
WE WERE DYING FOR A HOLIDAY
The six of us arrived on that beautiful Greek island dreaming of sun-drenched beaches and blood orange sunsets, ready to lose ourselves in the wild freedom of a weekend away with friends.
On the first night we swam under a blanket of stars.
Sister Bernard, the main character in my novel Obedience, is ninety. I’ve always been fascinated – and afraid – of what it means to grow old, particularly as a woman, and I like exploring the perspectives that age can bring. I enjoy seeing older women given a voice, especially when they don’t turn out to be the easy, likeable characters we might expect. There aren’t that many books with really old women as the main characters, because age is not glamorous or comfortable, but that’s why it’s interesting. I hope the novels on this list go some way towards redressing the balance.
Seventy-five-year-old Florence is clever, outspoken and belligerent, sharp-witted, and sharp-tongued. Reliving memories of the American Feminist Movement at its height, she’s a great character forced to confront her own aging and the difficult dynamics of her family life. Crackling dialogue makes this book a slick and entertaining read.
In this award-winning novel that Maureen Corrigan of NPR’s "Fresh Air" deems “exquisitely crafted...witty, nuanced, and ultimately moving,” a wise, septuagenarian woman who has lived life on her own terms finds herself thrust into the center of her family’s various catastrophes. ¶ A Best Book of the Year by NPR, the San Francisco Chronicle, Salon, The Millions, the Christian Science Monitor · Finalist for the Kirkus Prize · A Chicago Tribune Editor’s Choice · An Indie Next Pick ¶ Meet Florence Gordon, a blunt, brilliant feminist. At seventy-five, Florence wants to be left alone to write her memoir and shape…
James Malloy is a ferry captain--or used to be, until he was unceremoniously fired and replaced by a "girl" named Courtney Farris. Now, instead of piloting Brenton Island’s daily lifeline to the glitzy docks of Newport, Rhode Island, James spends his days beached, bitter, and bored.
Crystal King is the author of The Chef’s Secret and Feast of Sorrow, which was long-listed for the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize and was a Must-Read for the MassBook Awards. She is an author, culinary enthusiast, and marketing expert. Her writing is fueled by a love of history and a passion for the food, language, and culture of Italy. She has taught classes in writing, creativity, and social media at GrubStreet, Harvard Extension School, and Boston University, among others. She resides in Boston.
Nino Latino is the nephew of Fra Filippo Lippi, one of the greatest Florentine painters. For Nino, every taste brings a heightened connection to the people and places around him. He rises to culinary acclaim but it’s the forbidden hand of a woman that threatens to undo him. Appetite is a book to relish and devour.
Florence, 1466. A lust for life, a passion for power and a taste for adventure...
In Florence, everyone has a passion. With 60,000 souls inside the city, crammed into a cobweb of clattering streets, countless alleys, towers, workshops, tanneries, cloisters, churches and burial grounds, they live their lives in the narrow world between the walls. Nino Latini knows that if you want to survive without losing yourself completely, then you've got to have a passion.
But Nino's greatest gift will be his greatest curse. Nino can taste things that other people cannot. Every flavour, every ingredient comes alive for him…
